


Living the Double Life

by thecryptictaxi



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: 1940s, Alternate Universe - 1940s, Domestic Fluff, Everyone Is Gay, F/F, Fluff, Gay, Homophobia, M/M, Period-Typical Homophobia, Post-War, Post-World War II, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-21
Updated: 2019-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:07:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23068222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thecryptictaxi/pseuds/thecryptictaxi
Summary: When you're a gay couple in the 1940s, you live somewhat of a double life.[in which ww2 is over and the boys survived]
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Comments: 5
Kudos: 93





	Living the Double Life

Being gay in 1945 meant a lot of things. It meant no public affection. It meant locking all doors and windows. It meant being quiet, even in one's own apartment. It meant keeping up appearances. It meant dancing with girls at parties. It meant a double life.

Steven Grant Rogers, also known as Captain America, hated it.

"Why can't we kiss in public?" he complained to Bucky. "We're human, aren't we? Don't we deserve to love like any other?"

James Buchanan Barnes, also known as Bucky Barnes, hated it too.

"I know, Stevie," he said as he ran his fingers through his Steve's blond hair. "But you know what would happen if we did that."

"Changes start with a single person," Steve shot back. "That could be us."

Bucky held his boyfriend tight. "Don't risk this, please, Steve. Don't risk us."

Nobody knew. Bucky always showed up at parties and gatherings with a pretty girl on his arm. He introduced girls to his family. Steve didn't have a family, but when he did, he never had to hide things from his mother. Sarah Rogers was the kindest, most accepting woman anyone would have the pleasure to meet. She had known all about Steve and Bucky, even before they confessed their relationship to her. Steve often wished that more people would be like her.

But now that he was Captain America, it was getting harder and harder to hide their relationship from the public. Reporters followed them everywhere, and was often right outside their apartment building.

Steve was 27 now, so was Bucky. They were not married yet, which was unusual for someone of their age. Steve and Bucky had no interest in girls, but many people were talking about Captain America's unmarried status.

One day, Bucky brought home two girls. One of them had fair blond hair and green eyes, the other had dirty blond hair that was mostly brown with blueish grey eyes.

"Who's this?" Steve asked him.

"Meet Nancy and Meg. Nancy and I are getting married."

" _What_?"

"They're like us," Bucky explained. "Both of our parents are breathing down our necks, expecting us to get married soon. I needed a wife, and she needed a husband. _And_ , Nancy here just so happens to have a girlfriend here who's willing to do the same with you. Whad'ya say?"

"I— what? How is this even going to work?"

"We've got it all figured out, Stevie, don't worry. There's an empty apartment next door. Nancy and Meg are going to live there. And we'll stay here, but if anyone asks, I'm living next door, and Meg here. And then all four of us can live happily ever after. Sounds great, doesn't it?"

"That's crazy!" Steve exclaimed. "Nobody's going to believe us!"

"Sure they will," Nancy butted in. "We'll leave some of our stuff at your place, and you can leave some of yours at ours. It'll look believable. Besides, has anyone accused either of you for being queer?"

"Well, no..."

"All those news outlets, they're incompetent little bastards. They won't even think of it."

Steve sighed and scrunched up his nose, deep in thought.

"People _have_ been wondering when I would get married," Steve started slowly. "And this way, all four of us will benefit from it. Better than marrying women we don't love and having to stay with them."

"Exactly," Bucky enthused.

"Why don't we start over?" Steve said to Meg. "Hello, ma'am. My name is Steve Rogers." He took her hand and kissed it gently.

"Hello," Meg replied. "Meg Rosenheim."

Over the next week, Steve talked to Meg multiple times. He found out how Meg and Nancy had gotten met. The two had met five years ago at an illegal gay club, and had been together ever since. He told her of how he and Bucky had been friends since children, and the first time Bucky had kissed him, shocking the both of them.

The week after that, the two of them attended Bucky and Nancy's wedding together, going public for the first time. 

"Oh, how nice that the both of you are finding such lovely partners!" Mrs. Barnes exclaimed happily. "You're growing up! Starting lives for yourselves. Oh, I'm so proud of you, James. You too, Steve!"

Instead of the usual traditions after a wedding, Bucky and Nancy spent the rest of the night moving their items to and from their apartments. They hung photos up and moved some of Bucky's clothes to room 15, the girls' room, but most of his belongings stayed in room 14, where he and Steve lived. Steve and Meg helped, too. They moved Meg's belongings to the correct room, but leaving enough to look like a normal couple's apartment.

"Maybe we can go out for breakfast tomorrow, publicize," Bucky told Nancy. "Goodnight, Nancy."

"Good night, my dear husband," Nancy grinned as she pulled Meg into their new apartment.

"Well, Steve," Bucky said. "I just got married. And there is a tradition that newlyweds like to uphold."

He leaned in for a kiss, and Steve kissed back. They were bare by the time they reached their bed, gasping and panting.

"I love you," Bucky panted.

"I love you too, Buck," Steve said once they had finished. "So much that it hurts when you're not with me. You're like a piece of me. Without you, there's no me. The real me, anyway."

"You've always been a poetic little shit," Bucky teased. "You're the best, Stevie."

Bucky and Nancy were married, and Steve and Meg were dating. However, they still needed to uphold appearances. Once a week, Steve took Meg out to a nice cafe or a restaurant and "dated".

Once the initial awkwardness wore off, Steve found that Meg was indeed a lovely person. She was very kind, and strongly reminded him of his mother. They became close friends. He looked forward to their dates. They didn't feel like a part of his schedule; he genuinely enjoyed them. He had never had many friends, but he found it to be quite nice.

Everyone was fooled, and for a while, the front page was the news was only about him and Meg. People had mixed opinions on their "relationship". Many people said that they were a perfect fit, while some others said that it was a terrible match. The strongest opinions came from young girls around the age of 16, who were heartbroken that Captain America hadn't chosen them as his true lover.

Once, they had a girl had fling herself at Steve. The girl clutched onto his biceps and wouldn't let go. Steve was quite taken aback, but Meg could barely control her laughter at both the situation and at Steve's bewildered expression.

"I'm sorry, but he's taken," Meg stifled her giggles while she tried to sound angry, "so you'll have to find someone else."

Bucky and Nancy got along well, too. They also became close friends, and often went to dinner at the Barnes's home. Mrs. Barnes absolutely doted on her, and Bucky's younger sister, Becca, loved talking to her.

Mrs. Barnes asked many questions, but particularly stuck with the both of them.

Steve, Bucky, Nancy, and Meg were having dinner together in their apartment when Bucky repeated the question.

"Are we going to have any children?"

Steve looked at Meg. "What do you think?"

"I don't know," she replied. "I've always wanted babies, but now that I'm actually thinking about it, I don't know how this would work out."

"Don't worry, babe," Nancy said, leaning back in her seat. "We still have years before we have to worry."

"What do you think?" Bucky asked Steve.

"Well, there's no way to split a baby. So if we were to have one, we would all have to want it."

"But do you?"

"In the future, maybe," Steve shrugged. "But I don't know if we're quite ready for children just yet."

"I agree," Nancy said. "Let's just enjoy this for now. I think that's a problem for future us."

"I second that," Bucky replied.

"Same," Meg smiled. "Maybe in a few years, but not now."

Life went on swimmingly. All four of them continued to live their double lives. Steve and Nancy, Bucky and Meg in public, but Steve and Bucky, Nancy and Meg at home. They had a door connecting the two apartments, and the girls and the boys became best friends. They became so close that it took almost no effort to look like a couple outside.

"You know," Steve said to Bucky. "When you brought home Nancy and Meg, I thought that your idea was crazy. I doubted it would last for more than a week. But now, it just feels weird to think of life without them."

"Who would've thought, huh?" Bucky pulled Steve down for a kiss. "My crazy ideas do work out, after all."

"Idiot."

"Punk."

**Author's Note:**

> sorry for the hasty (?) ending. i'm really bad at wrapping up stories.
> 
> [my tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/inner-egg-pong)


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